SALT LAKE CITY — A grandmother reportedly stopped a man from committing a mass shooting in Texas, according to CNN.
Special agents of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested a Lubbock, Texas, man for allegedly contemplating a mass shooting. The man, named William Patrick Williams, reportedly bought ammunition and rented a hotel room where he planned to commit the shooting.
His grandmother, though, persuaded him to visit a hospital after learning about his plan to kill, according to CNN.
A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas announced Friday that Williams told his grandmother back on July 13 that he bought an AK-47 rifle and planned to use it to “shoot up” a hotel and “then commit suicide by cop.”
Somehow, the grandmother convinced him to receive treatment at a hospital before the shooting went down.
“This was a tragedy averted,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox, according to CNN. “I want to praise the defendant’s grandmother, who saved lives by interrupting this plot, as well as the Lubbock police officers and federal agents who investigated his unlawful acquisition of a deadly weapon.”
Police later searched the hotel room that Williams had rented. They found the weapon that he said he had. He also reportedly had 17 loaded magazines and a slew of knives, according to NBC News.
The room also contained “tactical pants, a black trench coat, and a black T-shirt” that read, “Let ‘Em Come” on it.
Williams will appear in court Friday. He could face up to five years in federal prison, according to Insider.
“The FBI worked closely with our partners at the ATF and Lubbock Police Department to prevent the defendant from potentially committing a violent act,” Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office, said in a press release, according to Insider. “This case is a perfect example of law enforcement agencies coming together to find a solution that protected the public from harm.”